Vatican nuncio to U.N. urges Africans to guard 'authentic values'

Published: 2003-10-20

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- The Vatican nuncio to the United Nations warned Oct. 16 that Africans working for the development of their continent should resist individualism and maintain "the authentic values of Africa." Archbishop Celestino Migliore emphasized "respect for the family" as the most significant of those values, and said the extended African family reflected a "sense of solidarity and community life." He said, "The Holy See is confident that Africa will always preserve this priceless cultural heritage and never succumb to the temptation to individualism, which is so foreign to its best traditions." Archbishop Migliore spoke at a session of the U.N. General Assembly devoted to the New Partnership for Africa's Development, a program adopted by the African Union and designed to express a commitment by African governments to take more responsibility for improving their own economies.

Copyright (c) 2003 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .